Would I Be That Brave?

St. Eusebius leads Christians in prayer as they faced their martyrdoms

As I read Hebrews 11, I'm moved to ask the question, "Would I be that brave?"

Hebrews 11 is known as the Heroes of the Faith chapter. The writer lists a host of Old Testament believers and the courage they demonstrated in the face of opposition and outright persecution.

He writes, "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38).

Would I be that brave?

As I reflect on this chapter, I realize that the emphasis is not on the heroes, but on the faith and what it was able to achieve in them, and presumably in us as well.

Each of these heroic examples is prefaced with the words "by faith." "By faith, Abel..." "By faith, Noah..." "By faith, Abraham..." "By faith, Moses..." By faith... By faith... By faith...

In others words, the individuals themselves were ordinary. In fact, in many cases, they pleaded with God to choose someone else because they did not feel up to the task. That which made them "heroes of the faith" is what faith emboldened them to do.

Faith still works the same way. It emboldens the people of God to attempt the unachievable and to dare the unimaginable.

Do you think that Daniel would have voluntarily strolled into a lions  den, or that his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would have, on a whim, wandered into a fiery furnace? By no means! Their faith in God would have taught them, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

But when Daniel was left in a lions den overnight or his three friends were thrown into a blazing furnace, their faith in Yahweh, their God, gave them courage.

That same faith filled the hearts of first and second century believers who were thrown to the beasts under Roman persecution.

Although the outcomes were different in that Daniel and his friends were delivered from death and those early Christians were not, the faith was the same and the courage it inspired was the same.

Would I be that brave?

I think that many of those heroes of the faith that we admire would have answered that question the way many believers do: I hope so.

Nevertheless, when faith is tested, it can demonstrate great resolve and generate great courage.

It's done so for generations.

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink

Though pressed by many a foe;

That will not tremble on the brink

Of poverty or woe.

Lord, give us such a faith as this;

And then, whate'er may come,

We'll taste e'en now the hallowed bliss

Of an eternal home.

Hymn 396, The Lutheran Hymnal

The Resolve to Forgive

Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in Invictus

"Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness starts now."

In the 2009 movie Invictus South African President Nelson Mandela speaks these words to the head of his personal protection detail who had expressed misgivings regarding the additional men assigned to the detail. These additional men had been assigned to the previous presidential protection detail and had in fact tried to kill Mandela and his men. In order to emphasize the need for change if South Africa were to be united after Apartheid, Mandela affirms, "Forgiveness starts here. Forgiveness starts now."

What does it mean to forgive? Literally it means to release or let go of someone or something.

For example, we talk about forgiving a debt. That means we no longer hold a person accountable for the money owed to us. We release that person from his or her financial obligation.

Likewise, when we forgive people for their words or actions, we are releasing them from their guilt. We are promising no longer to hold them accountable for the hurt they have caused. We are assuring them that we will not dwell on what they have done or allow their words or actions to taint our relationship in the future.

As such, forgiveness is liberating for those who are forgiven. It removes the roadblock of guilt and paves the way for a renewed relationship.

Forgiveness, however, not only liberates the forgiven. It also frees the forgiver. To forgive is to promise myself that I will not allow my hurt and my anger to eat me up from the inside. To forgive is to promise myself that my thoughts will not be clouded by resentment and my desire to "get even." To forgive is to let go of the offense so it cannot dominate my life.

Forgiveness sounds like a "win-win" for all involved. It's a gift for the receiver as well as the giver. If that's the case why does forgiveness seem so rare?

It's because forgiveness comes with a price tag. If you owe me $20 and I forgive your debt, it costs me $20 to do so. If you cut me off in traffic and I let it go, it costs me the seeming satisfaction of road rage. If you cut me with your words and I don't retaliate, it costs me the opportunity to put you in your place.

Forgiveness always comes with a price tag, even for God. God wanted to forgive us, His children, for our selfish words and actions that hurt Him as well as others. He didn't want to treat us the way we deserved. He wanted to forgive us. But there was a price tag. Someone had to pay the cost of our forgiveness, and that one was Jesus, God's eternal Son.

Jesus' suffering and death on the cross was the price for your forgiveness, a very steep price. But the heavenly Father and Son determined that you were worth the cost. They had the resolve to pay the price so you could be set free from your guilt and God could be set free from His anger.

As we enter a new year with all sorts of resolutions, maybe we need to add to the list the resolve to forgive. It might be the best gift we ever gave ourselves.